This 'Harry Potter' fan theory could change everything

Are you prepared for a Harry Potter theory that might change the way you look at the Dursleys? While we know the Dursleys were just plain awful to Harry during the years he lived with them, there might actually be a reason why they treated him so poorly. As one Tumblr user suggests, their behavior could be blamed on magic, and not just any magic, but Horcruxs.

Think back to all your Harry Potter knowledge, and remember that Harry was part Horcrux himself. That scar that He Who Shall Not Be Named gave him as a baby was a Horcrux, and Harry then had part of He Who Shall Not Be Named in him, which is why he was a Parseltongue and could talk to snakes, REMEMBER?? Harry — though always good — was filled with some dark magic, and Tumblr user Graphic Nerdity suggests that the Dursleys simply had a bad reaction to this.

“The point is, the Dursleys were just minding their own business when a Horcrux was dumped on their doorstep,” Graphic Nerdity writes. “For the next decade it proceeded to warp their minds, turning them from your garden variety insufferable human beings into horrible, heartless monsters.”

You know what? This kinda makes sense. Remember how cranky Ron got around the Slytherin locket? And remember how Ginny basically became possessed after finding Tom Riddle’s diary? Clearly, these Horcrux’s have strong magic, and after years of exposure to Harry, the Dursleys began to crack, almost like they were allergic to this Horcrux.

Our friends over at SugarScape aren’t so convinced by this theory, mentioning that Ron and Hermione should have then had a similar reaction to Harry’s Horcrux, just like the Dursleys. While that is a very good point, there might be a simple explanation for their immunity to the dark magic: MAGIC. Just plain magic. The Dursleys had no magic whatsoever, so the Horcrux affected them strongly. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione had a sort of tolerance to it, so they didn’t go crazy hanging out with Harry all the time.

Graphic Nerdity ends the post by suggesting that, “The fact that [The Dursleys] survived such prolonged Horcrux exposure without delving into insanity or abandoning a helpless child only solidifies their place among the pantheon of noble and virtuous heroes in the Harry Potter universe.”

Um, while we’re not willing to go that far, maybe we should ease up on viewing them as bad people. They kept Harry safe for all those years, didn’t they? What do you think? Does this fan theory make sense, or are you thinking about going back and re-reading the books right now to search for more clues about this? Do you think it’d be OK if we disturbed JK Rowling to ask her about it?